Capture the Flag: Corporal George W. Reed
During the U.S. Civil War, many Medals of Honor were awarded for capturing the enemy’s flag. George W. Reed was the recipient of one such award on September 6, 1864, […]
Knowing that success in the Western Theater during the Civil War depended on who controlled the major rivers, Union Brigadier General Ulysses Grant launched an amphibious campaign in early 1862 in Tennessee. First capturing Fort Henry on the Tennessee River, he next focused his attention on Fort Donelson, which sat on the Cumberland River. With the South holding key artillery positions in the area, along with earthwork fortifications surrounding Fort Donelson, Grant knew the task would not be an easy one.
He countered the 17,000 Confederate troops with more than 24,000 of his own. The Confederate troops were under the command of Brigadier General Simon Bolivar Buckner, a friend of Grant’s from their days at West Point. When it became apparent to Buckner that he had little choice but to surrender the fort, he hoped his earlier friendship with Grant would lead to Grant offering some lenient terms. Grant, however, did nothing of the sort, sending a message to Buckner that he would accept nothing less than unconditional and immediate surrender. Grant’s unconditional surrender demand led to a new nickname: “Unconditional Surrender” Grant.
The battle would be a bloody one, leading to more than 16,000 casualties, with nearly 14,000 of them coming on the Southern side. While most of the Rebel casualties came under the heading of Missing or Captured, Buckner still saw nearly 1,500 of his men fall wounded or dead.
Federal control of Forts Henry and Donelson effectively forced the Confederates to relinquish southern Kentucky and much of Middle and West Tennessee. With the Union now controlling both the Tennessee and Cumberland Rivers, as well as many of the railroad lines in the area, vital supply lines were established, leading to further success for the Union in the Western Theater.
By James Gindlesperger, historical author
Voltare Paine Twombly was born in Iowa Territory on February 21, 1842 to Samuel and Dorothy Twombly. On April 24, 1861, he enlisted in the Union Army in response to President Lincoln’s call for volunteers to suppress the Confederacy’s attempt to secede from the Union. A month after his enlistment the 19-year-old mustered into Company F of the 2nd Iowa Regiment as a private. He was promoted in October 1861 to corporal and placed in the color guard. For the first 10 months of his service the regiment saw little action, spending the bulk of its time guarding railroads in Missouri. In February 1862 that would change.
On February 14 of that year the regiment was transported by steamer up the Cumberland River, landing some three miles below Fort Donelson. They immediately marched to the headquarters of General Ulysses Grant, where they were assigned to Colonel J.G. Lauman’s Fourth Brigade of Brigadier General Charles F. Smith’s Second Division.
In early afternoon the brigade moved into a position on the extreme left of the Union line, at which time Companies A and B were sent out as skirmishers. The two companies skirmished until dusk before being called back into the ranks. The regiment spent the rest of the night trying to rest, despite having no tents or blankets to ward off the bitter cold. At 2:00 pm the next day they were ordered to storm the fortifications by splitting the regiment into two segments, the left wing advancing first, followed by the right wing in support.
The regiment proceeded up the hill as ordered, reaching the outer fortifications without firing a shot. Once there, regimental commander Colonel J.M. Tuttle gave the order to fire. The first barrage was immediately met by one just as deadly from a Confederate encampment on the opposite side of a small ravine, and the fight was on: the Iowans charged across the ravine, pushing their foes back.
Early in the charge Color Sergeant Harry Doolittle was struck four times by enemy fire, dropping the colors. They were immediately picked up by Corporal Solomon Garfield Page, who only carried them a few feet before he was killed. Corporal James H. Churcher then lifted the colors and carried them until a ball struck him in the arm, fracturing it in several places. Seeing the colors fall for the third time, Twombly rushed to Churcher’s side and took his turn. Twombly soon was struck by the galling fire himself, but fortunately, the ball that struck him was nearly spent. Knocked down, Twombly collected himself, struggled to his feet, and continued on. Seeing the colors once again moving forward, the Iowans rallied behind Twombly and continued their charge.
Reaching a small hill on the opposite side of the ravine, they made a stand, occupying the position for about an hour. In that time the Confederates brought in reinforcements while the 2nd Iowa was subjected to friendly fire from behind them. Many of the casualties suffered by the regiment were said to have occurred from the fire from the unknown Union troops. Low on ammunition and with little choice, the regiment took a position behind the enemy entrenchment to escape the friendly fire, but exposing themselves to that of the enemy. Throughout the remainder of the engagement, Twombly stood his ground and proudly held his colors aloft. He was shown in after action reports to be the only member of the color guard still standing.
In the fighting, Col. Tuttle was wounded and command of the regiment fell to Lieutenant Colonel James Baker, who maintained command until the next morning. Aside from occasional picket fire throughout the night, the regiment was not disturbed any further.
The next morning, as the 2nd Iowa prepared for another assault, the Confederates formally surrendered the fort. In recognition of their effort, General Smith ordered the 2nd Iowa to lead the Union troops in their march into the fort. Once there, Twombly had the honor of placing the colors on the battlements, adjacent to the white flag borne by those leading the surrender.
Following the Battle of Fort Donelson, Twombly went on to carry the colors at Shiloh, Corinth, and Bentonville. He was wounded a second time at Corinth and a third time at Jonesboro, Georgia. He mustered out on July 12, 1865.
On March 12, 1897, Twombly was given the ultimate recognition when he was presented with the Medal of Honor, his citation reading, Took the colors after three of the color guard had fallen, and although most instantly knocked down by a spent ball, immediately arose and bore the colors to the end of the engagement.
As is often the case in battle, there was some disagreement concerning the number of men who became casualties while carrying the colors. Some sources indicate that five men fell before Twombly picked up the flag. It is likely, however, that two of those who were thought to have borne the colors were officers who had been wounded around the flag but who had not actually made any attempt to carry the flag.
Twombly went on to become Iowa State Treasurer, a position he held through three elections. He passed away at his home in Des Moines on February 24, 1918 following a prolonged illness, and was buried in Pittsburg Rural Cemetery in Keosauqua, Iowa.